Marijuana Business Magazine September 2018

New Jersey New Jersey has opened a licensing application process that will lead to a doubling in the number of medical marijuana businesses serving the state, from the current six to 12. Reflecting strong demand from entrepreneurs wanting to secure one of the six new licenses, more than 800 people attended a mandatory pre-application meeting in August. The state’s MMJ expansion, pushed by Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, comes at a time when patient numbers are growing rapidly. The program now serves 28,000 patients, according to the state Depart- ment of Health website, up from about 16,000 at the end of 2017. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed a task force to draft rec- reational marijuana legislation which, if eventually enacted, would position the state to have potentially one of the larg- est adult-use cannabis markets in the country. A 20-mem- ber group consisting of New York state government and law enforcement officials, advocates and academics has been appointed to draft the legislation. They are charged with coming up with recommendations for the state Legislature to consider in its upcoming session. 28 • Marijuana Business Magazine • September 2018